A specialist North East recruitment company has moved into the former Cafe Royale building after the historic property was given a £1.5m makeover.
Lead Candidate is a pharmaceutical and biotech recruiter founded in 2020 by entrepreneur and investor Fiona Cruikshank and CEO Andrew Mears, alongside fellow director Raman Seghal, founder of Ramarketing. The business has seen significant growth, prompting a search for a new home in Newcastle.
Now the company has become the third and final tenant to sign up for space within the revamped 8 Nelson Street, bringing the building to full occupancy. The business has taken up the second floor of the Grade II listed property, joining international engineering firm Global Maritime which has moved into the third and fourth floors.
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Meanwhile, Nisha Katona’s hugely popular street food restaurant Mowgli opens its first North East eatery in the building on March 14, having let the basement, ground and first floors. The lettings mark the completion of a five-year project to breathe new life into 8 Nelson Street, which was home to award-winning Cafe Royale for many years.
The award-winning cafe closed its doors suddenly in 2020, two years after it won Best Cafe in the Newcastle Awards 2018. The building was acquired by MCM Group, a property investment and development company owned by Ian Watson, the founder and chairman of luxury care home business Hadrian Healthcare.
The group has completely transformed the building, taking inspiration from several cutting-edge tech offices in London to create high specification, contemporary spaces, fitted and furnished for each of the three tenants.
Andrew Mears, CEO at Lead Candidate, said the company was excited to be settling into a larger office right in the heart of Newcastle, with more space for collaboration and some great lunch spots on the doorstep. The firm is also recruiting itself, creating a role for a new talent partner.
Mr Mears said: “This move is a huge step forward for us and reflects where we are as a business right now. Lead Candidate’s new home is the perfect environment for the team to thrive and continue delivering amazing work for our current and future clients.”
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Letting agent Knight Frank successfully brokered the deal.
Nathan Douglas, senior surveyor at Knight Frank, said: “MCM Group came to Knight Frank with a strong vision and we have worked with them from the initial purchase – shaping the concept and letting strategy, right through to securing them a diverse, secure spread of income and bringing a market-leading restaurant brand to the city. It is testament to the immense character of the building, the strong destination in the heart of the city and the standard of the refurbishment, that we have been able to fully let the building on a good timeline.
“8 Nelson Street is market-leading space in a vibrant, thriving, central location near Grey’s Monument and situated opposite the city’s well-loved Grainger Market which is seeing significant investment.”
Jas Gill, managing director at MCM Group – property and investments, said: “It’s great to welcome a Newcastle-founded business into the building as they expand their team. We look forward to supporting their continued success.”
Knight Frank is joint agent with Parker Knights on the scheme.